Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,612,631 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 802,027 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.59% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,393,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 5.2 %
Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $702.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $988.70 and its 200-day moving average is $948.42.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.
View Our Latest Research Report on COST
Costco Wholesale Profile
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Free Report)
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.
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